NEW DELHI: Orders have finally been communicated to Delhi Police for register and investigate cases Against Congress leaders
H-K-L Bhagat Sajjan Kumar and others for their alleged role in the antiSikh riots of November 1984 in the Capital
‘This has been done nearly two weeks: after Lt: Governor P.K. Dave waited under Central pressure and a stalled his own earlier orders
Chief Minister M.I .Khurana told reporters last week that the orders were communicated to Delhi Police ‘by Home Secretary Anil Baijal the Previous evening. Congress leaders figure in eight cases to registered Khurana said.
It may be no coincidence that the offer was sent to Deth Police around the time Karunakaran Committee announced that a complete overhaul of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) was in the office.
Several Congress leaders including Sajjan Kumar are now trying to outdo each other in their bid to replace Bhagat as DPCC president.
Last week also saw Sikhs of the city ‘protest Central moves to stall orders for registration of riot cases. Bhagat Sajjan Kumar and some senior police officials figure in 21 cases recommended for registration by the Jain-Aggarwal committee one of the many panels which probed the riots which followed Indira Gandhi’s assassination
The Narula Committee an advisory body appointed after the BJP came to power in Delhi was also of the view that immediate action be taken on cases recommended by the JainAggarwal committee.
According to Khurana Delhi Police has been directed to register cight cases involving political leaders inquire into 11 other cases and tum over the remaining two cases involving police officials including one who has since been promoted to a senior post to Central Bureau of Investigation CBI.
Delhi Police has finally been told to act on the orders. Everybody knows how the orders after being issued twice were stalled It is rather unfortunate that cases recommended by Jain-Aggarwal committees were sent to CBI in the first place. CBI never acted on these and ultimately returned bundles of documents but all that is over now Khurana declared
He did not forget to emphasize that with this BJP had kept an election promise the party had stated in its manifesto that cases connected with the 1984 riots would be registered and victims provided justice we are keeping our word he said.
Orders to Delhi Police were stalled almost immediately after Khurana announced on April 22 that Daye had directed Home Secretary Baijal to ensure these 21 cases were acted upon. An angry Khurana then disclosed that Dave had stalled his own orders. He had charged that the Center was trying to delay sending the orders to the city police.
As Raj Niwas sat on the order Delhi Akali leaders and Gurdwara representatives protested and even Janata Dal joined the chorus Janata Dal leaders Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Viresh Pratap Chaudhary threatened a party demonstration outside the residence of the Union Home Minister and a full-fledged agitation thereafter if the orders were not communicated to Delhi Police
With the orders being dispatched to police headquarters decks have been cleared for registration of cases against Bhagat and Sajjan Kumar Narula committee in its first set of recommendations to Khurana had suggested that the charge by widow Anwar Kaur ‘against Sajjan Kumar be changed from section 153-A IPC to 302 IPG (for murder) and the same be communicated to CBI
This February Khurana had taken up the matter with Pilot asking him to ensure CBI registers the cases
Article extracted from this publication >> May 13, 1994
